


a cold day in Purgatory

by lumberwoof



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Minor Spoilers for Season 2, seasonal fluff, with a lot of my headcanons for Nicole thrown in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 19:14:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13037637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumberwoof/pseuds/lumberwoof
Summary: Nicole and Waverly get stuck in Nicole's cruiser during a snowstorm. Talking (and cuddling) to pass the time results in some small revelations.





	a cold day in Purgatory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CourierNinetyTwo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/gifts).



_This is why you're not supposed to bring your girlfriend on ride-alongs,_ Nicole thinks to herself in a very Nedley-esque tone.

The snow outside is falling in thick, heavy sheets that blanket the countryside and Nicole's cruiser, which is currently parked just off the road. Not that anyone can see the road with the three feet of snow and ten feet of visibility. She has the engine running for now, but she can't keep it on forever.

Waverly's in the passenger seat, frowning at the snow outside but not looking particularly distressed. Mrs. O'Reilly's small yorkie is curled up on her lap, her fingers gently stroking through the fur.

It had started snowing shortly before Nicole had headed out in response to the missing animal report. With news of a blizzard on the way, she hadn't wanted to entertain the thought of leaving the poor animal out there. Waverly had tagged along, because of course even the pets of the townspeople adored Waverly the same way their owners did.

Nicole hadn't expected the blizzard to fall on top of them on the way back.

_Purgatory really is hell on earth,_ she thinks, and not for the first time.

Thankfully, the cruiser's got emergency kits exactly for this sort of thing, so they're more than well-prepared to wait out the blizzard. Nicole already radioed the station, too, so as soon as it's safe, they'll have someone to help dig them out. For now, all they have to do is wait it out.

Nicole can't imagine this is very fun for Waverly, who needs four blankets and an extra body to stay warm during the cold winter nights. "You okay?" she asks.

Waverly has been staring at the snow falling outside for quite some time, almost in a daze. She turns to look at Nicole with a wry smile. "Yeah, though I guess dinner tonight is a bust, huh?"

Nicole turns to dig through the emergency gear. "Well, we've got a half-full thermos of coffee, bottled water, some protein bars, crackers, and fruit snacks. For Purgatory standards, I think that's practically fine dining."

That gets a soft chuckle from Waverly, whose gaze drifts back to the blizzard outside.

"First time being snowed in like this?" Nicole asks, as she pulls out the blanket to wrap around them.

"Oh gosh, no. Though it has been a while," Waverly answers.

Mrs. O'Reilly's dog stays curled up on Waverly's lap, sleeping easily under the blanket. It's a little more awkward for Nicole to cuddle her girlfriend. The backseat is blocked off by the protective screen, so they have to stay in the front and contend with the centre console between them.

Nicole uses her height to her advantage, leaning most of the way over so Waverly doesn't have to stretch so far. She can already feel all the ways her back is going to ache later, but none of it matters when Waverly rests her head against her shoulder.

She keeps shifting, trying to find a comfortable position, and then sighs and pulls away. Nicole watches as Waverly presses close to the door and pats the small sliver of empty space on the seat. It takes a little awkward maneuvering, but Nicole manages to get her legs over the centre console before she realizes she still has her utility belt on. Waverly chuckles as Nicole quickly unbuckles the heavy belt, leaving it behind in the driver’s seat. After what feels like an eternity, but is really only a few painful seconds, she slips into the passenger seat, making a soft noise when Waverly shuffles to sit in her lap.

"Okay?" Waverly asks.

"Okay," Nicole confirms, readjusting the blanket around them as she rests her chin on Waverly's shoulder.

They sit like that for a while, just breathing slow and enjoying each other's warmth. Nicole rubs up and down Waverly's arms, knowing just how easily her girlfriend can get cold. Sometimes she strays down to Waverly's hands, trailing along her fingers and giving the dog a scratch between the ears for good measure.

_Poor guy is smaller than CJ,_ Nicole thinks.

Calamity Jane is probably curled up on her favourite pillow on the couch, without a care in the world. Nicole had bought one of those automatic feeders a few weeks back just in case, and it looks like she's going to get her money's worth of it tonight.

"How about you?" Waverly asks, breaking Nicole from her thoughts.

"What about me?"

"Doesn't seem like this is the first time you've been snowed in on the roadside either."

"Nope."

"Then I have to wonder, how does this sort of thing happen in the city?"

Nicole laughs, trying to imagine what Waverly's thought process is right now. How she must be picturing some poor sap freezing in their car when there's a Starbucks ten feet away while the parking meter runs out of time.

"Doesn't happen too often in the city, no," Nicole agrees. "Rural Ontario, yes. I didn't move to the city until I was halfway through grade 12."

"That sounds like a bad time," Waverly says, her hand finding Nicole's under the blanket and tangling their fingers together. "Was that because-?"

"Yeah," Nicole answers quickly.

"I'm sorry."

"Ah, don't be. I got to live with my cool grandma for eight months before I went off to college." Maybe it's a bit of a cavalier tone, but Nicole has already spent enough time grieving that period of her life, and now she has all she could have ever asked for with Waverly and Wynonna and everyone else. (Not to mention the things she definitely didn't ask for, what with the demons and all, but she's supposes that this is a bit of a Pandora's box situation. And she'll take on all the bad in the world if it means she gets to stay with the Earps.)

Waverly quiets again, twisting in Nicole's lap so her ear is pressed against Nicole's breastbone, listening to her heart. The dog grumbles and readjusts in Waverly's lap, one of his paws pressing against Nicole's thigh.

Nicole is ready to switch the conversation to a new topic, but Waverly's fingers start running up the back of her hand, up to her forearm, where they pace the length of it in a nervous habit. She wants to asks Nicole something, so Nicole waits until she does.

"What was she like?"

"Grandma Holliday?" Nicole says, thinking about it, but Waverly interrupts before she can continue.

"Wait, Holliday, like Doc Holliday?"

Nicole blinks, suddenly struck by the connection she hadn’t even noticed until just now. "...Huh."

Nicole wraps Waverly up in her arms and rests her chin on Waverly's head. She makes a face. "I... never really thought about that, but it is spelled the same way, so... maybe? I thought he didn't have any children back in the day, though."

"No, not I know of,” Waverly says quietly. “Not that he knows of, either.”

"Probably just a coincidence then." There’s more than enough weird things in this town and Nicole is pretty sure this isn’t one of them.

"Wynonna doesn't believe in coincidences in Purgatory," Waverly comments.

"Do you?" Nicole asks.

Waverly shrugs lightly. "I don't know, but there's some poetic irony here if it is. A not-actually-Earp and a not-actually-Holliday."

"Except you are _actually an Earp,_ " Nicole reminds, with a gentle kiss to Waverly's head. "If blood meant anything I never would've found my way here."

Waverly wriggles in her grip, but there's a soft smile on her face. "I know, I know, I'm just saying."

"Just making sure."

Nicole checks her watch and sighs, not a lot of time has passed, but she’ll have to kill the engine soon. The snow doesn’t appear to be letting up yet, either.

"So, tell me about the last time you got snowed in like this," Nicole says.

"Oh boy, I was… nine, I think?" Waverly starts. "Yeah, nine. Because it was the one year where Wynonna was pushed into hockey, y’know as a 'positive outlet' and obviously it didn't go very well, but we were driving back from a tournament in the truck with Uncle Curtis."

"Were you scared?"

"A little, but I had Wynonna and Uncle Curtis with me, so it wasn't so bad." Waverly’s hand moves from Nicole's arm to her thigh, clearly searching for warmth. Even under the blankets and through her trousers, Nicole can feel that Waverly's fingers are starting to get cold. "I will never forget the smell of Wynonna's hockey gear in the backseat though, that was atrocious."

"Mm, as someone who played hockey as a teenager, can confirm. It's an awful smell."

"Of course you did."

They lapse into silence again, the dog makes more grumbling noises and stands up under the blanket, spinning in circles a few more times before curling up again, now mostly in Nicole's lap with his head on Waverly's thigh.

"Uncle Curtis would've liked you," Waverly whispers.

"Yeah?" Nicole likes to think he would've, knowing how influential he was for Waverly, but hearing it from her lips is so much more. "I only met him the one time, but he seemed like a really good guy."

"You met him once?"

"My second day on the job, the boys sent me on some sort of a wild goose chase on the backroads. You know, hazing the rookie? I got a bit lost and was determined not to radio in because I felt I needed to prove something, and Curtis just happened to be passing by in his truck. Helped me get turned around and headed back in the right direction."

"He was good at that," Waverly says, and Nicole can hear a tightness in her voice. "Pointing people in the right direction, that is."

Nicole thinks back to that day, her cruiser parked on the side of the road, not too far from where they are now, actually. But there's no snow, just the chill of early September and the fading light of dusk. She's too stubborn to radio in and ask for directions, but she's so far out in back country that there's no landmarks she can recognize in any direction. Plus, she knows this is some sort of test, some rookie initiation, and she wants to make a good impression, even if the Sheriff already told her not to take any bullshit from the others.

It was a relatively harmless thing, but Nicole was new in town, with no friends or family nearby, fresh out of a mistake of a relationship, and seriously questioning her judgment in letting Sheriff Nedley talk her into taking a post in a town called Purgatory of all things.

Sitting alone in her cruiser on the side of a dirt road in what felt like the middle of nowhere was definitely one way to make a girl feel insignificant.

And then she'd heard the bustle of a truck and Curtis had come around the bend, pulling over to check on her. He knew all about the sorts of pranks the boys at the station played, gave her directions, told her the same thing Nedley had told her ("Don't mind the boys and their bullshit, just give them a rough time in return."), and then led her back to the closest intersection she could remember in his truck.

There are other things about that day she remembers, that didn't have significance then, but have so much now. How Curtis had made idle conversation, asked her how old she was, said he had a niece around her age. Talked about being late for family dinner, but hoping his other niece wouldn't mind, knowing he was out here helping someone.

Nicole remembers checking her phone as she got back in range of the towers, and what the date was on the upper corner of her screen - September 8.

Waverly snuggles closer to Nicole and her eyes are closed but she's not sleeping, just relaxed, drawing patterns against whatever parts of Nicole her fingers happen to be resting on.

Maybe Wynonna's right, maybe there is no such thing as coincidence in Purgatory.


End file.
